Effie M. Mcgee

Effie M. (Mercer) McGee, age 87, entered into the presence of her Lord and Savior on Thursday, April 21, 2016 at Advocate BroMenn Hospital, Normal, Illinois. Effie was born in Uvalda, GA on Sept 22, 1928, the daughter of Alex Mercer and Lucinda Yarbrough (Formerly Lucinda Mercer). Effie accepted Jesus Christ as her savior at an early age and while in Freeport IL was a longtime member at the First Church of God, serving as a pianist and choir member. Although she chose to embrace membership at her son Reggie's church, Way To Life Christian Centre, for a brief time in between. When Effie left Freeport to spend more time with her children and their families she lived in Jacksonville, IL with Verle and his family for 6 years and became a faithful member of the Jacksonville Assembly of God, enjoying participating in women's group activities, weekly Bible study and Sunday worship. As her personal needs changed she moved to Bloomington/Normal with her son Gerald and attended First Assembly with Gerald and family. Effie spent her last three days singing and humming hymns to her Lord and Savior and truly amazed both staff and patients at BroMenn as well as her family who were with her most of the time prior to her transition into the presence of her Heavenly Father. Effie married Henry D. McGee on June 26th, 1952 in Dixon IL. Of this union were born three sons Gerald (Joy) McGee of Bloomington, IL, Reginald (Barbara) McGee of Sun Prairie, WI and Verle (Nina) McGee of Jacksonville, IL, seven grandchildren Mike Shipp-McGee, Steven McGee, Desire (Michael) McGee-Greene, Brett McGee, Jason McGee, Reginald H.D. McGee, Aungelica Henri McGee and four great grandchildren. Effie is survived by three sisters, Carrie Yarbrough-Carr of Sterling, IL, Hazel (Yarbrough) Davis of Long Beach, California, Annie (David) McGee of Moreno Valley, CA and five brothers, Isaac (Earline) Mercer, William Yarbrough Jr., Curtis (Edith) Yarbrough all of Dixon, IL, Robert Yarbrough of Camden, New Jersey, and Wesley Yarbrough of Forrestville, MD. Effie provided for her three sons as a certified and self-employed beautician for many years including after the sudden passing of her husband in 1968. After stabilizing her family, she went on to follow her passion to help others in various capacities in the Freeport Community and around the State of Illinois. Her endeavors included Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Center in Freeport, Illinois, the Green Hills Council of Girl Scouts and The Freeport Housing Authority. Effie founded and operated the "Black Family Incorporated" and provided numerous support services to those in need in her community. Effie also served as a member of the District 145 School Board, Alderman on the Freeport City Council and numerous other community service boards. She received a myriad of awards from the local community including the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Public Service Award and the NAACP Rosa Parks Award. Effie is predeceased by her parents, three sisters Mary Yarbrough, Lillian "Elaine" Peters, Sharon Webb and three brothers James Mercer, Alex Mercer and Bernie Yarbrough. The Celebration of Life service will be 11:00 am Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at Park Hills Evangelical Free Church in Freeport, IL. Visitation will be held from 6:00-8:00pm Tuesday at Burke-Tubbs Funeral Home in Freeport, and Wednesday from 10:00 am until the time of service at the church. Burial will be in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. Please visit www.burketubbs.com to sign her online guestbook and to share memories.